Destinations

Bergen Airport

Bergen Airport, Flesland, Norway

SAS serves a long list of international destinations with direct flights and impeccable service. Flying from the UK to Bergen, Norway on SAS takes about 2 hours from Gatwick and 3 hours from Heathrow on direct flights.

Bergen Airport is approximately 10 miles southwest of Bergen. The airport first opened in 1955 and is now the second-busiest in Norway. Statistics from Avinor show that there were 5.6 million passengers in 2011. With Norway continually rising in popularity, that number will likely be considerably higher in the future.

Passengers can take a taxi from outside the terminal building or even a minibus that connects the airport to Flesland Quay, where passengers can connect to Stord, Austevoll, Haugesund and Stavanger by boat. Car rental and coach services are also available from the airport.

Bergen

Bergen is almost at the top of the world and has natural wonders that are very different from anything found in the UK. The city is an entry point to the Norwegian fjords with their mountains rising directly out of the sea, majestic waterfalls, year-round glaciers and islands just offshore. The city’s charm and nearby ski resorts are other reasons tourists come on cheap flights for holidays. Bergen is warmed by the Gulf Stream, with summer temperatures at about 20°C. At the same time, its northern latitude provides 20 hours of summer daylight. Another advantage of visiting Bergen is having the opportunity of experiencing the Aurora Borealis, or the Northern Lights.

Bergen is second only to Oslo, Norway’s capital, in population and size. An old Hanseatic League town, it’s famous for the brightly painted merchants’ houses. Strolling the ancient streets and alleys is like walking into a familiar fairy tale. Flowers decorate the streets and homes everywhere. The Bergen Aquarium is home to a wide variety of fish, penguins and seals in their natural habitat. It also has an area where exotic crocodiles, snakes and spiders entertain visitors.

UNESCO World Heritage Site

Follow the cobblestone roads past UNESCO World Heritage-recognised wooden buildings at Bryggen on to the old fortress at Bergenhus, stopping along the way at the various museums and galleries in Bergen. The homes and businesses of Bryggen were the first built in the city and were its nerve centre for hundreds of years. Photos of the ancient gabled buildings are a familiar image of Norway. Bryggen is still home to shops, offices, artists, craftspeople and restaurants. Nine mountains encircle the city, providing a majestic backdrop from within the streets and panoramic views of Bergen to the fjords and ocean once you have climbed their trails.

The Bryggen Museum houses extensive medieval relics in a beautifully modern architectural structure. The Hanseatic Museum is almost the exact opposite, residing in an old Hansa building illustrating 18th century merchant’s lives.

Railways and travel

The Norwegian State Railways network takes travellers throughout the Scandinavian countries and into Europe. Passes may be purchased, allowing you to enjoy the countryside from the comfort of a coach seat. The Flåm Railway, one of the steepest in the world, travels from a mountain station at Myrdal on the Bergen Railway to Flåm station in the Aurlandsfjord on one branch of the world’s longest fjord.

For all these reasons and more, it is well worth a cheap flight with SAS to Bergen, Norway.